The Ghost's Vampire
by masqueradewitch
Summary: Sequal to Blood and Shadows.  For nearly a century and a half, Mina has waited for Erik to awaken from the Sleep of the Dead.  When he does, will he be willing to spend eternity as a vampire?
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Here it is! The sequal to Blood and Shadows! All usual diclaimers apply, I am only borrowing the world of the Phantom, and I promise to return it in pristine condition when I am finished. Many, many thanks to TheWickedWitchofOZ for beign my beta. I fear I would never have gotten this chapter done without your help.

This story will be very short, only two or three chapters. I have decided this because I was trying really hard to write Angst last time, and my muse was very unhappy with leaving it the way I did. So after a long fight and intense negotiations involving the hostage taking of my other story ideas by said muse, we came to an agreement. I hope you enjoy it.

* * *

The first thing he became aware of was the comfortable press of a soft mattress under his body. The next was a burning pain in his throat. He sat upright, feeling the disorientation of sleep recede quickly from his mind as the memories crashed in on him.

_Christine was there next to him, trembling with fear in her lovely white gown, crystal tears flowing down her cheeks as she watched Raoul struggle for breath. She slowly stepped forward and slipped her trembling fingers up to cradle his face, her right hand jerking as it touched the marred flesh there. She pressed her lips to his, silently sobbing as she did, and he felt…cold. For a brief second, he could feel a different set of lips, hear a breathy voice moan his name, and he tore away from the soprano with a pained cry._

_"Go! Take your lover and go! Leave me to my solitude!" he howled, dropping the rope that had been strangling the Vicomte. Christine rushed to her lover's side to free him from the tangled ropes while Erik sank to his knees in grief._

_"Erik! The mob is coming after you. Please, we have to leave!" he would have thought himself mad, to hear her lovely voice begging him to flee, had he not felt her fall to her knees in the shallow water next to him. His head shot up and he was awed by the sight before him. Her hair was windswept from running through the tunnels, with emeralds glinting in the torchlight. The plain gown wrapped around her made the perfectly crafted gown he had given Christine seem made of rags in comparison. Bloody tear tracks lined her face, and her sapphire gaze shone with unconcealed love as she reached out to caress the marred skin on his face._

_"Mina? You came back to me?" he whispered, and she smiled, making his heart lift._

_"I couldn't leave. No matter how much it breaks my heart to see you with another I cannot deny you a thing," she replied through her bloody tears. He longed to kiss her then, to wipe away her tears and beg forgiveness for being so blind, but she stood swiftly, facing down Raoul as he held his sword at her chest. She did not flinch, merely gave the Fop a glacial look and spoke to him._

_"You have rescued your precious Christine Vicomte. Leave this place, and I swear to you that you will never see us again."_

_Christine's eyes were wild with fear and Erik realized what Raoul must see in the woman before him; a demon to match the monster that had stolen his love. Time seemed to slow as he gripped Mina's arms and wrenched her behind him, a heartbeat before the Fop's blade slid easily through his chest. He felt a strange tugging sensation, before everything seemed to spin and he was gazing up into Mina's tear filled eyes._

_"No! You are not going to die like this! I can save you Erik." She sobbed, drawing the hidden dagger from the folds of her dress. He smiled absently, already his vision was fading at the edges._

_"Forgive me, ma ange nuit. I was such a fool." He gasped, her shape was becoming blurred around the edges and only her sapphire eyes remained perfectly in focus._

_"Of course I forgive you, Erik! Just hold on!" she cried, and he felt a rush of fire in his chest. The world seemed to shift and swirl and, before he slipped into the darkness, he wondered how Hell could plan a worse torture than being dragged from Mina's side._

Erik slowly looked around at the room he had been laying in. It was very dark, and there was a faint scent of candlewax all around. Set in the wall across from the bed was a simple door with an ornate handle. He took a step forward before an odd scent caught his attention. He turned his head slightly to where a single fat candle burned. Next to the candle lay a thick leather bound volume. He moved closer and gently lifted the tome from the small table. As he did, the familiar scent grew stronger, a mix of jasmine and something else,. He opened the cover and found the book to be a journal. His heart leapt as he recognized Mina's graceful scrawl.

_May 16, 1944- It has been a week since I awoke from the Sleep of the Dead, and you still sleep, my love. After seeing what has become of our beloved Paris, I think you had the better idea. A Great War has been raging for some years, and France has been occupied for many of those years by German forces. These men are the worst sort of evil, persecuting entire groups for their religion or the way they were born! I have hope that they will soon be cast out. England, Russia, and America have joined forces and rumors are being whispered that the Allies(that is what those countries call themselves) will soon liberate Paris. I have been doing what I can to set up our new lives, but if the Allies do not arrive soon, we will have to slip out of Paris. As soon as you wake, you can choose the first place we will go. I miss you, my love._

He looked up from the page. 1944? That was seventy years! Quickly, he flipped through the pages. They were filled with short messages from Mina, all dated from 1944 until the most recent, which he could hardly believe.

_June 27, 2010- Over one hundred and forty years, and still you sleep. My only glimmer of hope is that you are still whole, the wound that should have cost you your life completely healed long ago. So much has changed in this world, and I long to share it with you. Believe it or not, but your story has become quite famous! There was even a musical written about thirty years ago based on your story. Even more amazing is that the 'phans', as they call themselves, all seem to adore you. So many people cry out against the injustices you suffered in your life, and call Christine a fool for leaving you behind and choosing the Vicomte. Tthey even call him the Fop! Naturally, I am never mentioned in the tales, after all, who would imagine that the lowly healer of the Opera Populaire knew a thing about the whole debacle? At the end of the play, Antoinette's little girl follows the mob into your home and finds your mask, sitting on the bench of your organ. I think it is fitting that your end is left a mystery to the audience, like you simply faded into the shadows like the Phantom you were, never to be seen again. Of course, that is not entirely true. I still see you, I still wait for you to open your wonderful green eyes and look at me again. I can only hope you will not despise me for turning you into a vampire like me. I love you, my wonderful ghost._

Erik sat down heavily. One hundred and forty years! He had slept for so long that the world had changed entirely. And he was a vampire? Fearfully, he reached up and pressed his fingers to his face, surprised to feel the stiff leather of his mask resting there. He smiled. How thoughtful of Mina to provide him with a new mask. Setting the book aside and leaping to his feet, he strode over to the door and turned the handle, intent on searching out Mina. He stepped into a dimly lit hallway, with a short stairwell at one end leading up. In less than two heartbeats, he was standing at the top of the staircase, his eyes darting around the lavish hall that spread before him. A door opened and a woman appeared. Her eyes widened in surprise for a second, and Erik prepared to flee back down the stairs when her face broke out into a wide grin.

"You're awake at last! Oh, Mina will be so happy! Theo! He's awake!" she cried, her short ebony hair sweeping around her head as she turned to call over her shoulder. A second later, an olive skinned, blonde haired, man appeared in the doorway. He smiled warmly at Erik, who was still standing at the stairway, torn between instinctual fear of people and an odd sense that these two were like him.

"Jessie, darling, relax. Why don't you go fetch Erik something to drink? He's probably starving," said the man. Jessie nodded and disappeared down the hallway while the man slowly approached Erik.

"I'm Theonis, but almost everyone calls me Theo. We're friends of Mina's, she asked us to watch over you until you woke up. How are you feeling?"

Erik looked around the room slowly, his gaze finally settling on a window that overlooked the sprawling lawn behind the building he stood in. He moved forward slowly, transfixed by the sharp detail he could see in everything. Theo chuckled behind him.

"Give it some time, and you'll adjust," he advised the younger vampire. Erik turned his head to look over the other man. Despite having similar coloring to the Fop, Theo held himself with a strong bearing.

"Have I truly slept for over a century?" Erik asked, surprised at the clarity of his voice. Theo nodded, gesturing for Erik to walk with him.

"We call it the Sleep of the Dead. If a vampire is badly injured and unable to feed soon enough, they enter the Sleep. Everything slows down, and the vampire will seem to be dead. After a time, the wounds will heal and the vampire will awaken. In your case your body had to not only make the change from human to vampire but also heal a mortal wound. That is why you slept for so long."

Erik listened intently, absorbing this new information as they walked. Theo opened a door and led Erik inside, where Jessie stood at a small icebox pouring red liquid into a glass.

"Here we are. Go easy, I know you're thirsty, but too much too fast will make you sick," she advised him, offering the glass. Erik gently took it and nearly gasped as the burn in his throat increased at the scent of the blood. He brought the glass to his lips and took a long slow drink. He let out a shocked breath as his senses seemed to sharpen and settle, until he felt more like himself at his best. He looked over at Theo.

"Where is Mina?" he demanded. Theo laughed outright, and Jessie joined him, her high, tinkling laugh reminding Erik of the higher notes of a flute.

"Well, he certainly doesn't let much phase him, does he?" Jessie tittered while Theo, still smiling, nodded in agreement.

"Mina left about a week ago to visit her sire, Korfus, in Egypt. I'll call her and she will catch the first flight to Paris, if she doesn't decide to run the whole way," said Theo, still clearly amused.

"Vampires can call to each other over such distances?" asked Erik with a puzzled frown. Theo smothered a snicker behind his hand as he moved over to the far wall.

"No, Erik, what Theo means is he will use the telephone. It is a machine that sends a signal across great distances that allow people to converse as if they are standing in the same room," explained Jessie, knowing that the device had only just begun to be considered plausible in Erik's time. Erik let this sink in as he took another drink from his glass, listening to Theo as he spoke into the telephone.

"Korfus? It's Theonis. We're fine. Is Mina available? Thanks. Mina? How fast can you get a flight to Paris? He's awake. I swear, I'm looking right at him. He's taken to the liquid diet a lot better than I would have expected. Yeah. Sure, just a sec," Theo took the receiver from his ear and looked at Erik. "Would you like to talk to her?"

Erik set his empty glass down and moved forward, gingerly taking the strange device from Theo. He placed it to his ear as he had seen Theo do and heard a rustling in his ear.

**"Erik? Can you hear me?"** Mina's beautiful voice flowed through the device and Erik felt tears form in his eyes.

"Yes, Mina, I'm here," he whispered in awe at the amazing technology that brought the blessed sound of Mina's voice.

**"Erik, I am so sorry I'm not there. I'm on my way to the airport right now. Korfus and I will be in Versailles by sunrise. Theo and Jessie will answer any questions you have in the meantime. Please tell me, can you forgive me?"** she asked, the sounds of movement clear in the background.

"For what, _ma ange nuit_?" he asked, puzzled. The sounds of movement ceased, and he could hear a door shut.

**"For turning you without your consent. For leaving that day and not giving you a chance to explain. For letting you step in front of that blade,"** she whispered in a miserable voice.

"There is nothing to forgive, my love," he replied tenderly. " I shall eagerly await the sunrise and your arrival."

**"I love you Erik. I'll see you soon."**

There was a click, and a long tone echoed in his ear. He looked back at Theo with his brow furrowed, and the older vampire smiled.

"She is probably eager to reach the plane," he explained. " The sooner to get here and see you with her own eyes."

"Come along, Erik. I'm sure you have many questions, and we of course have all night to answer them. Let's move to a more comfortable setting, shall we?" Jessie suggested, picking up a tray with several glasses, two bottles of blood, and a bottle of amber liquid on it.

* * *

A/N: The next chapter will return to Mina's POV. Tell me what you think!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I finally did it! The finale to this story! It took me longer to decide if Erik should still be scarred or not than to actually write this. Thank you to everyone who put this tale on alert or favorite, and eternal thanks go out to TheWickedWitchofOZ for being my beta. I never would have gotten this up without you!

* * *

"One hundred and forty years. One hundred and forty years I've been waiting and these idiots are making me wait longer?" I hissed under my breath. Korfus and I had left his home in Cairo nearly an hour ago, and he had called the airport to ready his private jet. Now we were sitting in the comfortable chairs waiting for clearance from the traffic control tower to take off, and I was more than a little antsy.

"Mina, you have been a vampire for several thousand years. One would think you would have learned patience by now." Korfus teased. I glared sharply at my sire as he chuckled softly, his eyes scanning over a newspaper. Korfus was about two hundred years older than me, but looked like he was in his late twenties. As a mortal, he had been a personal guard to a pharaoh of Egypt, but in the modern world he was more of a scholar. He glanced up from his paper and grinned at me.

"I have been patient Korfus. It took me millennia to finally find him, and I have spent the last hundred and forty years in torment, never knowing if he would ever wake up. I think my eternal patience has just about run out!" I snapped. Korfus stretched his hand out and grasped mine gently.

"Why don't you try to rest? I'll let you know when we arrive in Paris," I sighed and settled back into the comfortable seats. Despite my eagerness to reach Paris, and despite Erik's words over the phone, I was still afraid. He had spent so much of his life shunned because of his face that his natural reaction to people was to hide away or make them fear him. Now that he was an eternal vampire, would he still react this way? Still brooding, I closed my eyes and let my mind drift, a faded memory rising to the surface of my mind as I dozed.

_I grinned in triumph as I watched from my hiding place as Meg and her young pursuer giggled and ducked into a seldom used hallway. The boy pulled the young ballerina into his arms, smiling wickedly as he kissed her neck. I sensed movement behind me, but I didn't react, knowing it was Erik._

_"What are you doing?" he whispered in my ear. I spared a quick glance over my shoulder at him and turned back to the hallway ahead of me._

_"Guarding young love," I replied softly. Erik peered down the hall and tensed when he saw Meg in the young man's embrace. Knowing of his oath to protect the Girys, I gripped his arm tightly and shook my head slightly._

_"You will allow this boy to take advantage of her?" he hissed in my ear, his hand already going for his Punjab lasso. I rolled my eyes and gestured to the pair._

_"Meg adores him as much as he worships her. Maurice is a gentleman, and will never go farther than she allows. I think they deserve to be happy."_

_Erik said nothing, but pressed closer behind me to observe the pair. Maurice lifted his head to gaze lovingly down at Meg, and I felt Erik's sharp intake of breath at the sight. The boy had an ugly, curved scar along one side of his face, the edge puckering around his eye. The scar was still healing, but he had survived past the risk of infection, so I had high hopes._

_"His face," Erik breathed. The pair turned toward us and Erik pulled me through a hidden panel as they past._

_"Compliments of Joseph Bouquet. Maurice was trying to defend one of the chorus girls and Joseph took a knife to his face for it. Meg found him and fetched me right away. She stayed by his side while he was recovering. When she looks at him, she doesn't see the scar, she sees the man who rescued one of her friends." I explained, turning to lean against the wall of the tunnel. Erik turned away his eyes dark._

_"Bouquet's death was too good for him," growled the Phantom. I sighed and straightened my gown, slipping through the panel back into the now empty hallway._

_"I have to go. I promised a friend I would visit," I said. A moment later, I felt a gentle brush of a hand against my hair._

_"Until we meet again, mon ami."_

I opened my eyes and looked absently out the window at the night sky. My mind was still occupied with Erik, and I glanced at the fine wristwatch I wore to check the time. It was already a little after three in the morning, and I blinked slightly before I remembered to adjust for the time difference. Beside me, I heard Korfus chuckle.

"You must be distracted, if you did not notice the tarmac outside the window," he said, eyes twinkling with amusement. My head shot up and I was on my feet almost before I could think to do so.

"Why didn't you say something?" I demanded. Korfus' chuckle turned into a full laugh as he stood and gently took my arm, tucking my hair behind my ear in a fatherly manner.

"You are so very nervous, my child. You needn't worry. We will be in Versailles soon enough, and you will be able to see your beloved ghost for yourself," he soothed. I allowed my sire to lead me down the steps and across the private airstrip to the spacious garage where we kept out Paris vehicles. Korfus selected his favorite car, a vintage Rolls Royce with no top, and slid into the driver's seat. I slipped in next to him and watched as he went to turn the engine over, and paused.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"I just remembered that this car doesn't really go very fast. Perhaps the Ferrari would be better for your sanity," he teased. I huffed in annoyance, but obediently followed as we switched to the jet black Ferrari. Like most vampires, we enjoyed driving fast cars due to our heightened reflexes. It's one thing that Hollywood got right. We are always careful to not get caught, and if we do, well, I'll just say Erik is not the only one with a talent for hypnosis. At that absent thought, I burst out laughing. Korfus glanced over at me curiously as we left Paris behind us.

"Erik was already so skilled at hypnosis, I'm afraid to tell him how much stronger his natural talent will be now!" Korfus' laughter joined mine as we raced through the empty roads toward Versailles.

* * *

As the tires crunched the gravel in the drive, I felt my nervousness increase, my hands trembling as Korfus pulled to a stop before the front of the mansion. He calmly climbed out of the seat and moved around to open my door. I let him take my shaking hand and help me out of the vehicle before I turned to look at the door. I took a deep, calming breath, and walked resolutely up to the door. My fingers had just curved around the doorknob when it opened from the inside, revealing Jessie's giddy face.

"Mina!" she shrieked, throwing her arms around me. I happily returned the embrace with a gentle laugh.

"Jessie, I've only been gone a week. I have missed you though," I said, pulling away slightly to peek behind her. She smiled and stepped back to let me in the house.

"He's waiting in the music room. We've been over quite a bit of history, and he asked for some time to think before you arrived," she explained. With a final squeeze of my hands, she let me make my way down the hall toward the music room. I could feel my heart hammering in my chest as I neared the closed door. Despite our words on the phone, doubt still nagged at me as I reached for the doorknob. As I slowly opened the door, I heard the gentle strains of music coming from the piano, the soft melody Erik had played for me the night I had passed out in his lair. I slipped inside and leaned against the door, watching him as he played. The music washed over me in a gentle caress, and it took all my control not to rush to him. After a few moments, he stopped playing and slowly turned to face me, his white mask standing out amongst the shadows I had barely registered in the room. He was watching me as closely as I was watching him, and I did not move, letting him take in the image of me in a midnight blue tank top and dark denim jeans tucked over black heeled boots.

"I had worried it wouldn't sound right on a mere piano. I was wrong of course, it sounds even lovelier," he said thoughtfully. I nodded shakily, fighting to keep my legs under me at the sound of his voice. In a second he had crossed the room and pulled me into his arms. I sagged against him gratefully, tears of joy flowing down my face.

"I have missed you so much," I breathed, holding tightly to him as if he would turn to smoke in a second. He drew back enough to bring his lips down to meet mine and I gladly responded. My fingers tangled in his hair as he deepened the kiss, my back pressed firmly against the door.

"I love you Mina," he whispered, his breath hot on my skin. I opened my eyes slightly and smiled dazedly back at him.

"I love you too. My beautiful ghost."

Erik smiled triumphantly and met my lips again. The edge of his mask bumped against my nose, and in a fit of annoyance, I snatched it from his face and tossed it aside before returning my lips to his. Erik had tensed for a moment, but melted at my touch. His fingers slid under the hem of my top, and I let out a soft mewl of pleasure. Through my heavy lidded eyes, something about Erik seemed different. My brow furrowed slightly as I tried to think through the haze of bliss, and Erik smiled. He reached up and traced a finger over my brow.

"What has you so worried, _ma ange nuit_?" he asked, his eyes shining with happiness. I leaned closer and let my lips wander along the side of his jaw, up his left cheek and over his brow, and down his right cheek to the corner of his mouth. I pulled back suddenly and stared in surprise at him.

"Erik! Your face, it's…healed!" I gasped in amazement as my gaze swept over his now unmarred skin.

* * *

I opened my eyes several hours later and smiled blissfully. Erik's fingers were lightly running along my skin, memorizing every inch of my body. I shifted so I could look up at him.

"I wonder what I could have possibly done to earn this Paradise," he murmured, eyes shining with happiness. I reached up and brushed the hair out of his eyes.

"You accepted me without doubt, without question. I have known so many people that feared me when they learned the truth of what I am. It was why I was so afraid of telling you the truth," I replied. He leaned down to press his lips to mine as the sun began to rise just outside the window. When I pulled back, I looked up at Erik's perfect features. Korfus had reminded me that the vampire change healed most scars, and that the deformity on Erik's face must not have been a genetic abnormality, but an accident of birth. Erik traced a finger along the curve of my side and I jumped slightly.

"The great and powerful vampire is ticklish?" he teased. I let out a playful growl and tackled him, sending him onto his back with me sprawled across his chest.

"How would you like to buy the opera house?" I asked, sitting upright and shaking my hair out of my face.

"It survived?" he asked, running his hands up the length of my thighs to rest at my hips.

"Well, it's been rebuilt a few times. First after the fire, then it was bombed during the wars, but with a little work, it could be just as great as it once was," I replied, leaning closer to brush my lips over his. He smiled against my lips and suddenly I was lying on my back with Erik leaning over me.

"There's no rush, my love. We have all the time in the world," he whispered, trailing kisses along my jaw. I smiled happily as I realized the truth of that moment. We truly did have forever.

* * *

A/N: Well, there you have it. I tried to leave it all sad but my muse just wasn't having any of that. So it's a happy ending for our favorite Phantom, 'cause, let's face it, he deserves the happiness! I am toying with another story with these two involving a new character, but it might take me a while. Thank you for reading!


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